Sugar Ray Leonard vs Pipino Cuevas 1980

Well Duran whom you rate at A+ ( which I agree with ) quit against one fighter and lost to three others whom you only rank B+, A and A-. Let’s not forget about Kirkland Lang and Robbie sims who I doubt you rate very highly

 

Ray gets dropped early trading hooks and then fights smart, boxing his way to a 15-round UD.

 

RL steps inside and has a field day beating Pipino to the punch and to thecounterpunch. He'll start and finish the exchanges.

7th TKO.

 

Bigger guys Duran couldn't be bothered to show up for. IF you want hold Duran's laziness against him I get it. But you can't game plan around Duran not caring.

 

Ray stops him in the mid to late rounds.

 

And yet you rate him an A+ fighter and not Hagler Hearns or Leonard ?

 

Duran fought over 100 times. Ray fought what 28? Hagler was retired by 32. Duran's losses are more easily forgiven since he fought so much more against (L to Dejesus aside) against larger men. Duran beating Barkley would be like Hagler winning a cruiserweight championship.

 

Cuevas is way too slow.

 

Leonard fought 40 times. Hagler had around 70 fights. As for Duran fighting bigger men so did Hearns. He was a welterweight who won titles at welter, jr. middle, middle, super middleweight, light heavy and cruiser. Your criteria for down grading Hearns was that he was stopped which is kinda ridiculous given that lots of great fighters get stopped including Duran !!!

 

And another thing, if prime Cuevas caught Duran, could he survive?

 

I mean, probably. He ate Barkley's left hook at 168 and while Cuevas could bang, Hearns was on another level of accuracy Cuevas just didn't have.

 

Everybody Hagler fought was his own size. Same for Leonard until he hits 175.

Hearns was a dominant welterweight but you can look at welterweight Hearns and see he wasn't quite developed yet at 147lb. Hearns was stopped in his biggest fights at multiple weight classes. Hell of a boxer but from all the way up the plan against Hearns was to knock him out. Even weight classes up Hearns wasn't what you traditionally think of as the "Smaller man" usually and his frame carried weight unusually well. Duran gave up height and reach every fight.

 

Not sure what you’re taking about with Leonard fighting people the same size until he hit 175... Leonard never weighed 175 and fought plenty of men bigger than himself.... Hearns fought through 6 weight classes and championed in about 5 of them. His only prime stoppages are against Leonard and Hagler. Duran quit against Leonard and was stopped by others... I don’t get your rating criteria but hey it’s your opinion

 

Don't ask me to explain my reality. It's going to take a couple books.